Remembrance
by Rahil
Summary: Sakura remembers... oneshot NaruSaku. Slight WAFF. R&R.


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and all related merchandise is property of their repective owners

A/N: This is my first ever romance fic. So i really took a shot in the dark by attempting one, as usual suggestions would be appreciated.

BGM: Both files availible on gendou

('I Do': Illaria Graziano. Ghost in the shell stand alone complex second gig)

or

('Fields of hope': Tanaka Rei. Gundam Seed destiny)

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The morning air was cold and invigorating as the hidden village of Konoha awoke to face the day ahead. But for one citizen of that village this was time for a daily ritual.

Robed in the same black dress, Haruno Sakura made her way to the top of the Hokage Mountain to see a friend.

She entered the small garden. It was a beautiful garden; Ino and her made sure of that. They wanted this not to be a place of sadness; but one of hope, just the way _he_ always was. It was always peaceful here.

She knelt down before placing the single flower upon the cool stone surface of the tombstone.

She brushed away the remnants of flowers from her previous visit with a small sigh before lighting the incense, as was the ritual.

She stood and again, like every single time; it all came back. Every single time she could almost hear him saying with his million dollar smile

"Sakura-chan…" 

She was his 'Sakura-Chan'.

High in the sky, the birds flew in their perfect ryhtem not making a sound, as if even they mourned for him.

"Hi Naruto-Kun, I'm back again. And yes, its time for me to bore you again…"

She had long since stopped expecting a reply but still she continued, if she stopped talking to him it would almost be like she had forgotten about it.

Even now, it still hurt. Even now she still remembered…

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_It wasn't supposed to happen this way. _

_She never imagined, in her wildest dreams that it would end in this way._

_But it did._

_It was a simple retrieval mission, nothing her team couldn't handle but what can you do when fate throws a monkey wrench into the works._

She had prepared for an unpleasant mission but this was… 

"You will not touch her", Naruto bellowed against the black-cloaked assailant.

Naruto could almost see the person's thin pale lips curl up in a wicked smile before he moved, fast…too fast for anyone to dodge.

Sakura felt her blood run cold as she saw Naruto drop to the ground, a Kunai, probably poisoned, sticking out of his chest. To her, Naruto the top Jounin in the village, was all but indestructible, how was this possible…

Crying out his name, she ran towards him. Upon reaching him, she saw just how badly injured he was.

His shirt torn and ripped in so many places, his skin bruised and punctured. She could see numerous slashes across his chest and abdomen. His forehead ran red with his blood and his eyes were slowly turning the dark blue color of internal wounds.

Raising his head slowly onto her knee, she ripped out her sleeve and pressed it against the most serious of his wounds at his head.

How could she let this happen? She was the medic of the team.

She should have taken better care of him.

The young man coughed, some blood spraying out. Sakura held in a gasp. He smiled with what strength he had left.

"Sakura-chan…", She saw his eyes widen. In a swift, rough motion, she felt his hands shove her to the side.

And right before her eyes, she saw the cruel blade of a sword plunge deep into him.

"Finally, the ultimate Sharingan is mine. The stupid dobe was just that after all…a dead last", with a billowing of his black cape the boy she once loved disappeared into the forest bush, never to be seen again.

Blood gushed from the Naruto's body as the numerous wounds even took a toll on his body.

He then did the one thing that totally killed her from the inside, _he smiled his bright smile._

For the very last time.

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The days that followed his death were a blur to her.

Needless to say, Naruto's murderer escaped capture. But still, so many years after his death, the next generation still searched.

The news of his death had spread like wildfire. She was there that day as they placed the coffin into the hole. She was there when Tsunade made her tear-filled speech. His death hit one and all. It was ironic, only in death, was Naruto finally accepted by the people of Konoha. The fox, not having a place to reside, disappeared. No one knew what exactly happened to it but the seal that was emblazoned on his stomach finally went away.

It was later, when everybody had left and she stood alone in the cool evening air that she realized it.

_He was never coming back._

_His bright smile and kind eyes. His cheery face and sunny hair._

_Gone…_

She cried that day. She cried the next and the next until no more tears came out.

Very soon everyone carried on with their lives.

Ino and Shikamaru married, much to Temari's resentment. But time heals all, so she eventually got over it.

Neji eventually left Konoha to live a life where he was not bound by the restrictions of being a branch member. Last she heard, he had settled down in the bird country.

Hinata was now head of the Hyuuga and she was indeed a wise leader.

Hatake Kakashi, now with a full crop of white hair, was head of the ANBU.

It seemed like everyone managed to move on.

No one cried for Naruto anymore. It still hurt but there were no more tears to cry. They had all accepted Naruto's death and the fact that he wouldn't return.

All except for Sakura who stayed behind.

She put on a brave front, running Ino's flower shop and acting like everything was fine. She was, if anything, more subdued. Her raging inner self seemed to calm down a bit. It was as if a bit of her fire had gone along with him.

But the nights found Sakura tossing and turning in her bed. Everyone knew Naruto had been killed right before her eyes at the hands of the Uchiha avenger.

No one knew the same scene replayed in her dreams. She saw Naruto's eyes widen as she was pushed aside again and again. And most of all, she saw that last smile of his, again and again.

And in the cold empty room, the tears would emerge and she would sit by the windowsill, crying herself to sleep, a single cold reminder of what she had lost plaguing her thoughts.

_He would never be there again._

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And time continued…

Still she visited the grave, everyday. She had silently blamed herself for his death; it was her, after all, who made him promise to return Sasuke back at all costs.

Ino then gave birth to a healthy boy whom they christened 'Naruto'. Sakura laughed for the first time in years when he held her finger in her pudgy little hands and gave her a smile that broke her heart again.

Sakura continued to work at the flower shop, making it rather profitable in the process.

She was courted, by all forms of men but it was always the same answer they got : "No, sorry.", she would say in a soft voice before walking of almost hearing him walking next to her saying "Aw, Sakura-Chan, you don't have to sacrifice for me".

Still she did…

Eventually she did get it through her thick skull that Naruto was the one, she would always be his "Sakura-Chan".

So… in some way, she had never moved on from Naruto's death.

_Her heart had gone with him._

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"Aunty Sakura", she heard a loud voice call for her. She whirled around, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Approaching her was none other than Nara Naruto, his tiny feet pattering along as he ran as fast as he could.

"You've come to see the uncle I was named after?", he asked in a voice so full of innocence.

"Yes, Naruto-chan. Are your mummy and daddy here?"

He scratched the back of his neck with his tiny hands…_so much like him…_before nodding.

"Tell your mummy that I am coming, can you do that for me?"

He knew he could weasel a treat out of her if he did as she asked so he just ran down to tell his parents.

"He's so much like you", she spoke again to the tombstone when the boy was out of sight.

"Well, Naruto-Kun. I'll be back tomorrow like I always have; _like I always will_"

She gathered herself and walked out the door keeping the words on the tombstone in her mind.

_Here lies Uzumaki Naruto._

_Konoha's number-one surprise ninja._

_Remembered and cherished._

Yes, she decided. Those words suit it best.

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A/N: Well, thats it. A simple one-shot that i wrote when i was feeling slightly depressed. Read and re


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